Feudalism/Transcript
Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby A boy, Tim, and a robot, Moby, are in feudal times. Tim is plowing a field using an ox-drawn plow. Moby is pressing buttons on his arm. Tim reaches Moby and stops, tired and breathless. TIM: Whew, have you got your time machine fixed yet? Because I'm getting really sick of the 12th century. It smells bad, there's no hot water, and good luck finding something interesting to read! MOBY: Beep. Moby takes the ox's place and starts pulling the plow. TIM: What do you mean, it's not so bad?Moby plows very rapidly, creating a Pacman-like pattern in the field. Video game sounds can be heard. TIM: Hey, how'd this get here? Tim picks up a sheet of paper from the plowed field. He reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, We're studying the feudal system in social studies class, and I don't think I get it. Can you explain it for me? From, Cherita TIM: I'd be happy to explain the feudal system to you, since we've sort of been stuck inside it for a few weeks now. Tim gives Moby a dirty look. TIM: Feudalism was the economic and political system that dominated Western Europe from about 900 to 1300 C.E., during the height of the Middle Ages. An animation highlights the feudal era on a timeline. Then Middle Ages is highlighted. It spans over 1,000 years. We see that the Feudal System took place right in the middle of the Middle Ages. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, it began with the collapse of the Roman Empire. For hundreds of years, Europe was unified under Roman rule. An animation of a map of Europe illustrates the extent of the Roman Empire in that region. TIM: But the Empire fell apart in the 5th century C.E., and Europe broke into dozens of small, independent kingdoms. The map of Europe changes to show the small kingdoms Tim describes. TIM: The rulers of these new states had trouble repelling attacks from their neighbors and keeping their countries united. The feudal system helped solve these problems. An animation shows a king sitting on a throne in a field. Two knights suddenly attack the king. A large cloud of dust covers them as they fight. When the dust clears, the king now sits on the throne bald and in his underwear. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, under the feudal system, the king gave big chunks of land, called fiefs, to the leading men in the country. An animation shows a king and five men sitting on a piece of land. The land is divided up among them as Tim describes. TIM: Having a fief made you a nobleman, which gave you all kinds of power, plus certain responsibilities. Nobles became the king's vassals, promising to serve and protect him. An image shows a nobleman kneeling before his king. TIM: If the land got invaded, the nobles had to provide the king with troops. An animation illustrates troops defending an area from invaders, as Tim describes. TIM: They also had to let the king stay over if he visited, put up ransom money if he got captured by enemies, and pay taxes if he needed funds. An image shows a nobleman welcoming the king to a castle. A banner above the castle door reads: Ye Olde Guest Castle. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, if a nobleman received a lot of land, he'd usually carve it up. Just like the king, he'd give away fiefs to his own vassals, as long as they pledged their loyalty and protection. These vassals were often friends or relatives, but some were specially-trained soldiers called knights. A tree chart illustrates the hierarchy Tim describes. The knights are shown wearing armor. TIM: Not all knights got land; in exchange for their services, they'd get a nice place to live and all the equipment and supplies they needed. An animation shows an armored knight on horseback. Graphics point out specific pieces of the knight's armor and supplies, including a helmet, sword, aventail, pauldron, couter, and gauntlet. TIM: Either way, by hiring lots of knights, a nobleman would always have soldiers ready to defend his land and the king's. An image shows several knights defending a nobleman and his castle. MOBY: Beep. TIM: You got it. This huge system of promises and personal relationships kept Europe stable for several centuries. Today, our economy is based on money, but back then, land was the most valuable thing in existence. So, if you owned land, you basically had it made: You were a lord, and your land was called your manor. You'd live in a big castle or luxurious manor house and have total control over the land and the people who lived there. An image shows a lord's manor, a manor house, several smaller buildings, land, and trees, all enclosed by a wall. A river borders the manor on one side. TIM: You could make your own laws, punish anyone caught breaking them, and tax the people as much as you liked. An animation shows a young man in stocks, his head and hands shackled by the wooden frame. A lord stands next to him, smiling. Knights stand behind on guard. TIM: Best of all, once you got a fief, you could keep it in your family forever. You'd give it to your oldest son, who'd give it to his oldest son, and so on. An animation uses a family tree to illustrate a fief being handed down through generations. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, there wasn't a lot of social mobility in the Middle Ages. If you were born rich, you'd probably stay rich, and if you were born poor, you'd probably stay poor. The poorest people on the manor, and ninety percent of the population during the Middle Ages, were the serfs, or peasants. An image shows rich and poor people in the Middle Ages. The rich, wearing nice clothes, stand watching as the poor, wearing common clothes, work in the fields. TIM: In exchange for the use of small plots of land, serfs had to work in the lord's fields, obey his orders, and pay him taxes and other fees. An image shows a lord's field. Other images show hand tools used for farming, a serf looking at a posted law, and a bag of money. TIM: They didn't have a lot of rights. In fact, they weren't even allowed to leave the manor without the lord's permission. An animation shows serfs working their lord's fields. A wall encloses them. A small girl looks over the top of the wall. TIM: Since there was very little trade, and travel was dangerous, manors had to produce enough food and supplies for everyone who lived there. Serfs were responsible for producing all this, since the nobility didn't work. Images show the closed door of a manor's wall, a woman hauling bags of grain, and a blacksmith hammering out a horseshoe on an anvil. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, feudalism ended for a number of reasons. During the 14th century, famine and disease killed a huge chunk of the European population. An image shows people walking past dead bodies that lie in a city street. Cloaked people carry a dead body. TIM: These disasters created a labor shortage, so peasants were able to demand more rights and higher wages. An animation illustrates how a large portion of the population was wiped out. The few remaining peasants protest to receive better wages from their lord. TIM: If they didn't get their way, they had no problem staging bloody revolts. An image shows two peasants beating a knight with a rake and a hoe. TIM: Towns and cities began growing, and a new middle class of merchants and craftsmen began forming. Kings started grabbing more and more government power, and money began to replace land as the main source of wealth. An animation shows a wealthy man paying a blacksmith a bag of money for his work. TIM: Soon, the Middle Ages were over, and a new era, the Renaissance, began. MOBY: Beep. Moby is smiling at the buttons on his arm. TIM: You fixed it? Really? Well then, let's get out of here! Moby presses the button on his arm. The two of them disappear. Tim wakes up in his bed. Moby stands next to him. TIM: Oh, whew! It was all a dream! You wouldn't have believed it. I was a medieval serf, and you were there, and I had to plow for 10! hours a day without getting paid, and there weren't any bathrooms. Moby holds his hand over his mouth as he giggles. TIM: And boy, I'm just glad it wasn't real! MOBY: Beep. Moby lifts a hand-operated plow from the floor and shows it to Tim. TIM: Or was it?! Tim raises an eyebrow dramatically. Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Transcripts